


Entangled

by Ra_chelB



Series: Johnica Week 2021 [2]
Category: Queen (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Canon Lesbian Relationship, Eventual Relationships, F/F, Falling In Love, Fluff, Frida Mercury is a bit invasive but we love her, Friends to Lovers, Genderbending, I may have or not have projected a bit on veronica hmm, Idk I really wanted to write fem!johnica again, Joan is a Youtuber, Mild Language, Mutual Pining, Social Media, Social Media AU, Texting, Time Skips, lesbians in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-18 06:01:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28738419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ra_chelB/pseuds/Ra_chelB
Summary: Veronica is a young children books' illustrator who has just finished her studies. Joan is an engineering student who uses YouTube as a platform to share her knowledges with those who need.They seem to live in completely different worlds... until one day Veronica needs a hand with cables and wires.Written for the Johnica Week 2021Prompts: Social Media AU (+ Fem!Johnica)
Relationships: John Deacon/Veronica Tetzlaff
Series: Johnica Week 2021 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2102100
Comments: 8
Kudos: 6
Collections: Johnica Week 2021





	Entangled

"Fucking cables!!!"

Veronica let out an angry groan and threw her head backwards, trying hard to not fall in despair. She's been trying to fix the TV for almost an hour and the only result she came up with was a more intricate labyrinth of cables and wires, and she was completely lost. 

Fixing the TV by herself was harder than she thought. 

It wasn't absolutely among her abilities, her only knowledge about technology gravitated around her pc and tablet to work and barely anything else.

She unlocked the phone and, putting her pride aside, looked for a tutorial on YouTube. She tried to find a helpful one but none of them seemed to work, all the guys on the other side of the screen made her even more confused and she ended up also being more irritated. 

Until she found a video made by a girl.

 _"Which is which? A guide to cables and wires"_ by EngineerDeaky19, with a brown haired girl in the thumbnail looking at a bunch of cables surrounded by drawn question marks.

Ronnie tapped on it.

"Welcome folks, I'm Joan aka EngineerDeaky and in this video I'll help you with wires and cables. What's their purpose and how to keep them." 

There was a little musical intro with a bass playing a simple groovy tune, pictures of Joan fixing electronic stuff and small animations of sparkles and zaps. 

Ronnie couldn't help but smile, it was so cute and very well done, lighting up her mood.

"We'll start from the cables you'll probably have to deal with the most: the TV cables." 

Veronica felt all her irritation vanishing while watching the video and she let Joan's sweet voice guide her through the maze of cables, helping her to find out what she needed and reorder the rest of them. When Joan changed to PC and console cables Veronica didn't close the video, but she kept watching it just to look at her. 

She didn't expect a girl to do this kind of video on YouTube, but when the video ended and she scrolled through Joan's channel she found out it wasn't a single event: she had lots and lots of video about engineering, most of them being simple tutorials to help people with electronic stuff, with a few occasions of more complex things and experiments. When Ronnie found a video on how to solve TV problems it made her day and in a matter of minutes her TV was perfectly functioning. 

Veronica made herself a tea and kept watching Joan's video even if engineering wasn't her forte, the girl behind the camera had very good manners and even if she seemed a bit shy, especially in older videos, she was very pragmatic and simple in her explanations, with a sharp sense of humour that made the videos entertaining nonetheless. And she was also very pretty. 

Not surprised, Ronnie found many dirty comments under Joan's videos, mostly men talking about her boobs -that were actually never exposed- and shamelessly expressing their sexual desires in front of everyone. She tried to ignore them, as much as her guts were wrenching. 

Soon Ronnie landed on Joan's instagram page, engineer_deaky19, where the brunette posted news about her videos, her engineering studies and made some live streams as well, and with a bit of nervousness Ronnie tried to send her a private message. 

_"Hi, I'm sure you get tons of messages like mine but I wanted to sincerely thank you. I'm a disaster with electronics, but your videos helped me fix my TV and you made my day. Now I know where to look if I need a hand with cables and stuff! Thank you again and keep up, you're awesome._

_-Ronnie"_

Ronnie felt her cheeks warming up while writing the last words and sent the message.

Her day went by, she finished a couple of illustrations she was working on and had dinner watching Netflix on her newly repaired tv, when she heard a notification. 

_engineer_deaky19 liked your message._

_engineer_deaky19 wrote a message._

As her heart flipped, Ronnie opened her Instagram chat.

_"Hi Ronnie! Thank you for your message, I'm so glad I helped you with my videos! I actually get more creeps in my DMs than messages like yours so I'm more than happy 😅 Feel free to write me if you need a hand with something and I didn't make a video about it yet!"_

Veronica's thumb instinctively liked the message and she sent a heart. 

Beginning to chat with an engineer student was the least thing she expected to do, but it's exactly what happened that evening.

She wrote her back and the conversation almost went by itself. Joan wrote exactly how she spoke in her videos, maybe just a bit more freely without a script but always with good manners and cracking a joke every now and then. 

They talked about being online, about nasty comments they both got from creeps and idiots, about their differences and the things they had in common. Joan was an engineering student but she also played bass and the music in her videos' openings was hers, while the animations were made by her best friend Frida. Ronnie worked as an illustrator for children's books and found out that Frida had studied at the same school as her, and Joan lived in London too. 

Time flew and soon they wished good night to each other, both of them happy to have found a new friend. 

\---*---

Days passed and both Joan and Veronica's lives went on as usual, Joan posted a couple of new videos and left lovely comments on Veronica's drawings. At first only on the recent ones, then she ended up liking and leaving a small comment on each post of her gallery. 

They also exchanged a few messages every evening, sometimes replying to stories and just saying hello, other times diving more deeply in conversation.

"Her art is really cute, it’s a shame she doesn’t have many followers… She follows me though, I'm going to follow her back!" Frida exclaimed one day while she and Joan were in the cafè where their friend Regina worked as a waitress. "There, _following_."

She tapped on the button and smiled at Joan. 

"She attended the same art school as yours but she was in the illustration class." The brunette reminded her friend, who was also a talented artist with a passion for portraits.

"Ah damn, that was at the same hour as my figure class." Frida pouted her lips: not knowing someone in her school was very rare for her. She read Ronnie's profile once again looking for more infos.

_v.ronnie_art_

_Veronica T._

_Children book illustrator, London. 25 years old, Aquarius._

"I don't remember any Veronica T… If only she had a photo of her… She's just one year older than you, Deaky." 

While the Indian girl scrolled through Ronnie's stories Joan gave her a slightly annoyed look.

"Stop insisting, Fri. You look like a creep." 

"Sorry, I was just curious! It's weird that she doesn't have photos…"

"Not everyone is narcissistic like you. Maybe she doesn't like taking selfies or doesn't want to put her face online, it's fair." Joan shrugged, but she was trying hard to hide her own curiosity.

That same night Joan, while editing a new video, got a notification.

_v.ronnie_art has started a live stream._

Opening the app, the brunette saw Veronica's PC screen with a drawing in progress. The girl was behind the camera, working silently while soft music played in the background. 

Joan squinted her eyes, there were less than 15 people watching the stream and on the screen she noticed colors popping out here and there. Ronnie was probably coloring with a graphic tablet, she guessed.

"Ah, crap." Veronica whispered, very low, and Joan smiled widely. Apparently she made a mistake, annoying but easily solved with a ctrl+z.

 _"Hi Ronnie! What are you doing?"_ The engineer left a message in the live chat and she heard Veronica gasping.

"Oh, uh, hi! I'm working on some commissions and… and I wanted to try doing a live…" 

Veronica's voice, somehow, was exactly how Joan had imagined it: light and delicate, with a slightly northern accent, and she seemed quite shy. 

Since no one else was interacting with her in the live, Joan asked her a few questions and kept her company throughout the whole stream until it ended. 

_"Thank you so much Joan! It was my first livestream and I was afraid it would've been a disaster, but you made it better 💖"_

The artist wrote Joan a few minutes later with shaky hands and a grateful heart. 

_"You're welcome, it was fascinating to see you draw live! You have a lovely voice."_

Joan sent the message and something whispered in her mind, asking if she was flirting. 

She wasn't, she was just being friendly! But Ronnie's voice was so lovely… she didn't even know how she looked like though, it was so stupid to develop a crush like that. Was she developing a crush? Joan shook her head trying to wipe that silly idea and kept texting with Ronnie until they wished each other good night.

\---*---

_"Deaky you HAVE to hear this."_

Joan's phone buzzed while she was studying and she read Frida's message.

_"What?"_

_"I'm at the art shop and a girl just got in_

_And the owner just said "Hi Veronica!""_

_"Frida do you know there's more than one Veronica in London right?"_

_"I know I know but I'm sure it's her!"_

Joan rolled her eyes, Frida wasn't new to put her nose into her friends' lives and more than once tried to act as Cupid. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't, and Joan didn't really want Frida to bother Veronica for her. 

But truth be told, in the past month Joan and Veronica's bond has grown stronger and the engineer was now quite sure she was falling in love with the artist and her heart was conflicted between asking Ronnie for a meeting or keeping her just as an online friend. Even if both lived in London she was afraid of ruining her friendship with the other girl. 

_"Well I'm asking if it's her_

_✌🏻 Wish me good luck!"_

Joan almost choked at Frida's message, but it was too late.

"If you're looking for a good watercolor paper I'd suggest this one!" 

Ronnie looked at the girl who just talked at her side, a short Indian girl with sharp eyeliner and hair as black as a royal raven. 

"Uh, thanks. It's been a while since I used watercolors and there are too many brands…" She awkwardly smiled and took the sketchbook that Frida suggested, running her fingers on the paper. It was exactly what she needed for her new commission.

"May I ask you a question? Are you v.ronnie_art on Instagram?" Frida went straight to the point and Ronnie snapped her head at her.

"Wh- how...?!"

"I heard Mrs. Helen calling you Veronica and just guessed, am I lucky?" She gave Ronnie a toothy smile and the girl blushed.

"Ehm, yes it's me. You are?"

"mercurial.frida, we follow each other! Just call me Frida." 

Ronnie's heart skipped a beat. This was Frida, _that_ Frida. Joan's best friend. 

The younger girl recalled seeing her at school, Frida was quite popular unlike Ronnie and she had lots of followers online as well, but all her mind suggested right now was to talk about Joan. 

She's been thinking of meeting her for a while, but her shyness and her fear of ruining their friendship have been blocking her. Luckily, Frida was ready to break that block with her own hammer.

Deaky's head was laid on the table, her hands in her hair as she waited for Frida to write her something. After half an hour, Frida _called_.

With her hands sweating, Joan answered.

"Joan honey if you don't get that girl I swear to God I'll kick your ass forever!"

"It was her?!" She yelled, dumbfounded.

"Yes!!! And holy shit she's so cute, she's an actual fairy!"

"Wait what?"

"She has strawberry blonde hair and she's slim and so pretty, I could almost see a pair of wings behind her back! And she has legs for days, damn... By the way you're meeting her tomorrow at 3pm at Regina's cafe so you'll check by yourself." 

"Frida you did _what_? Are you joking?!" She yelled even louder, feeling her face burning.

"Oh no she actually asked me about you and so I said _Why don't you two meet tomorrow?_ Y'know, and she said _Ok then_ , she looked a bit embarrassed but happy to finally see you, I'm sure you'll be ok!" 

Joan stared at the homeworks in front of her, not sure if her heart was beating at overspeed or had completely stopped. Tomorrow? That was too early, God, she always needed at least two days to get ready. Probably she'd never be ready.

"Jo? You okay?" Frida's voice chimed from the other side of the phone, slightly worried.

"Uh… yeah, I guess. I just need a moment to process that, but sure I'll be there." She stammered and closed the call. 

She took a deep breath and went for a cool shower to clear her head.

\---*--- 

When Veronica got home from the art shop and the rest of her duties she ran to the bathroom and washed her face with icy water. 

She was going to meet Joan. 

In person. 

Walking to her bedroom, a stream of thoughts went through her head at the speed of light, first realising Joan had never seen her even in photo, but then Frida had told her for sure, at least. 

She needed to wear something fancy, but not too fancy because she never usually wore something too fancy and she didn't want to give Joan a false impression… 

With a soft thud, Ronnie threw herself on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Her crush on Joan was driving her crazy, she always tried to act casually in the DMs hiding all her feelings, but now that they were going to be face to face it all seemed so weird… and scary. Ronnie had never been in a relationship before, she had no idea on how to act. Was that even a crush or was she hallucinating? What were her parents going to think about it? What if Joan considered her just as a friend?

She heard a ping from her phone and checked the notification. 

Joan.

_"Uhm, hi Ronnie! Frida told me about tomorrow's meeting, I look forward to it! Hope she wasn't too invasive."_

A smile rose instinctively on Veronica's lips, as if just writing with Joan could've wiped away all of her worries. 

From the other side of the phone, Joan was nervous as hell but had the same feeling of relaxation while writing to Ronnie, and both soon found out that talking about the meeting made them feel better.

\---*--- 

It was a sunny day in London, Ronnie got out the Tube and walked to the famous cafè where Joan and Frida's friend Regina worked as a waitress. She rarely went to that side of London, but that habit was about to change soon. 

"Welcome!" A blonde girl with huge blue eyes greeted her as she stepped inside and straightened her skirt. 

"Hello, I'm… uh, I'm looking for Joan, Frida told me…" 

"Oh, you must be Veronica! Nice to meet you, I'm Regina but you can call me Reg! Joan is over there, give me a minute and I'll take you a menu." Reg was radiant and immediately showed her the table where Joan was sitting.

"Thanks.." She whispered.

As her eyes met Joan's, the brunette stood up from her chair and they both felt like an electric shock running through their hearts. 

Frida was right, Joan thought, Veronica looked like a real fairy and was so pretty, her copper hair framing her delicate face, her simple makeup and dress were like a perfect book cover for a story full of kindness. 

And yes, she had legs for days.

Seeing Joan for real and not through a screen had an effect also on Ronnie, the brunette was tall and lean, with tight pants and a button up shirt making her look both casual and stylish. Veronica wanted to run her fingers through her long hair, so incredibly silky and wavy that was practically asking to be braided. If possible, she was even more beautiful in real life.

"Uhm, hi! Nice to meet you." Joan reached out a hand trying to not break her voice. 

"My pleasure." Ronnie smiled and delicately shook her hand before sitting at the table. 

"Once again I'm sorry for Frida, sometimes she's… a bit impulsive…" 

"Remember Jo, without Frida you wouldn't have done many things, you should be grateful!" Regina chimed in with a laugh and playfully hit her head with a menu.

Joan rolled her eyes. 

"Yeah right, but she dragged both of us in her plan!" She whined and Ronnie tried to hide her laugh with a hand, blushing a little. Reg was definitely helping them break the ice.

"Is it a bad thing?" The waitress crossed her arms.

"N-no, of course…" Joan stammered.

"You and Bri are always so slow at taking decisions, she worries too much and you analyse too much. Now go with the flow, enjoy your meeting." Regina patted both girls on their backs before winking at Veronica. 

"If I may suggest, the chestnut frappuccino is otherworldly!" 

Ronnie blushed and gave Joan a questioning look, to which she replied with a nod. 

"Okay, I'll have that then…"

"Same. And we'll take some pancakes too! Ronnie, is that ok for you?" Joan gave her a reassuring smile, so genuine it made Ronnie's heart flip in her chest. Unable to speak, she nodded vigorously. 

Joan couldn't take her eyes off Veronica, after the ice was broken she was beaming with happiness and she seemed to love the pancakes and the frappuccino. The redhead kept giggling and smiling, becoming more at ease as if they were old friends, a feeling that also Joan was growing in her heart. It was as easy and relaxing as chatting, but this time she could admire Veronica with her own eyes. 

"You already met Frida and Regina, now only Brie is missing!" Jo chuckled, looking at Regina moving flawlessly among the tables.

"Brie? Like Brie Larson?" Ronnie questioned.

"Well, the name is the same, but she's just another friend of ours, she studies astrophysics. Brie and Regina are the founders of the band I'm in, guitarist and drummer. I'm the bassist and Frida is the lead singer and pianist." She explained as if being in a band was the most normal thing ever. "It's more of a hobby at the moment since we're all busy with study or work… just for fun, you know." 

"It's beautiful though, I'm glad you have so many friends." Ronnie whispered stirring her frappuccino, and Joan recognised the look on her face. 

"Before meeting them I was a bit of a lone dog, actually. I'm sure they'll like you as they liked me." The brunette instinctively placed a hand on Ronnie’s, trying to reassure her.

"Being a girl who studies engineering and likes 'boys things' is not easy, I'm alone among lots of guys… and none of them is half as helpful as my father was, I got used to being all by myself for a long time." She smiled and a vivid blush appeared on her cheeks as she unravelled her feelings. Not to the point of confessing her love for Ronnie, but it was still a confession nonetheless.

"I'm glad I met my friends and I'm glad I met you, truly. Even if it seems silly you mean a lot to me…" 

Veronica stared directly in her green-is eyes, losing herself in their softness. 

"You mean a lot to me too, Joan. I've always been too shy to have close friendships both online and in real life, you know…"

"I know." Joan’s smile was like a ray of sunshine, and once again a smile reappeared on Ronnie’s lips as a reflection. 

They had found each other.

  
  


\--*-- 

"I can't believe it... Fucking cables!!!" Veronica let out a loud groan holding a handful of wires as she tried to clean up behind the TV. 

"There must be an Elf or something mixing up the cables, it's impossible they moved by themselves!" She cursed. Bursts of anger weren't really her thing, but sometimes she couldn't help but get mad and surrender to frustration. 

"Sometimes I wonder the same, trust me…" 

From behind her, Joan's voice tried to reassure her and a bit of anger washed away. 

"Need a hand?" The brunette left her homework, kneeled on the floor next to Ronnie and gave her a tender smile. 

She pursed her lips. She had done this almost a year before and yes, John gave her a hand that time… sort of. 

"Uhm… just tell me what to do and I'll follow you, I have to learn by myself." Ronnie asked with a small shrug and Joan nodded.

Even if the engineer student repeated the same things from her video, doing it in person to help her girlfriend who was right next to her, real and tangible, was completely a different feeling. 

Having an immediate, direct response to her guidance, feeling useful, listened… loved for her talents. 

After that first date at Regina's cafè they went for some more dates, getting closer each time until she finally found the courage to ask Ronnie to be her girlfriend. They were best friends, sure, but when Ronnie confessed her feelings too it felt like a thousand stars lit up in her chest.

She had opened her eyes more than anyone else, showing her poetry and art in every big and small thing, in the colors of the sky, in the tiniest of bugs on a leaf, even in the mechanisms of a microchip. Joan's world of math, science and technology became more creative and free, giving her a boost to change perspective and imagine new inventions.

While Veronica's world of watercolors and magical creatures got a bit more realistic and tangible thanks to Joan's help: she learned to manage her money and job contracts better and to use her computer to create art more efficiently. But most of all she wasn’t alone anymore, and she was loved.

Frida would tell they were the two faces of the same coin, opposite and equal at the same time, perfectly matching each other even when difficulties came up and their divergences clashed. 

"I have a sixth sense for these things!" She bragged about her Cupid abilities every time she had the occasion. 

There was chemistry between them, and it was strong. Both John and Veronica couldn't have asked for anything better and now that they had moved together in Ronnie's flat that chemistry never faded.

"...and done!" Veronica let out a satisfied sigh, proud of her job.

Joan was proud of her too, knowing too well that look in her eyes that meant "I finally did it!" and that made her eyes shine.

She held her hands and brushed her nose with Veronica's, giving her a toothy grin.

"Good job, sunshine!" 

Ronnie blushed vividly, that nickname never failing to wake up the butterflies in her belly. 

"Thank you… Do you remember?" The young artist whispered with a smile. "I wrote to you for the first time because of my TV's cables…" 

"Of course I remember. Bless these cables, then." She leans in, nullifying the distance between them and brushing her lips with Ronnie's, tasting her fruity lip gloss. 

The redhead girl adjusted herself on her girlfriend's lap on the living room's floor and kissed her more deeply, her arms around her neck holding her tight before both exploded in a giggling mess like a bubble of happiness. 

Yes, bless those tangled cables.

**Author's Note:**

> I know maybe this was a bit messy and probably not my best fic, but it was funny to write anyway. I hope you liked it!  
> Next fic will be for day 6, stay tuned!


End file.
